The Schooner Governor Ames Near a Lighthouse
pastel on paper
unsigned
17 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches.

The Governor Ames was launched on December 1, 1888, by the Leavitt-Storer shipyard in Maine as the world's largest cargo vessel and the first five-masted schooner. She was named for Oliver Ames (1831-1895), the Governor of Massachusetts, and was operated by the Atlantic Shipping Company for the firm's dealings in the lumber trade. Disaster struck on her maiden voyage when the foremast snapped, creating a domino effect on the remaining masts and resulting in their complete destruction. Rehabilitated with shorter masts, she continued to operate out of Pacific ports before transitioning to the coal trade in the fall of 1894. She wrecked in a gale on December 13, 1909, wherein all but one of her crewmembers died and the entirety of her railroad tie cargo was lost.